


The Calm Before

by Aloneindarknes7



Series: Start on the Right Path [3]
Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Planet, Alien Sex, Blow Jobs, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Lovers, Episode Related, Established Relationship, First Time Blow Jobs, French Kissing, Kissing, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Non-Graphic Violence, Picnics, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:13:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7497156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloneindarknes7/pseuds/Aloneindarknes7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continues directly from my last fic in this series. Goes through a few typical adventures between Wander and Hater while they date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Calm Before

**Author's Note:**

> This little segment is pretty much a big span of time. I'm trying to move the story along and show that now that they've gotten together, they do have such happy times together without anything too major happening.

Hater didn’t wake up in an overjoyed state of emotion. He didn’t skip down the hallways eagerly to see his boyfriend. He wasn’t light on his feet and didn’t feel joy radiating from his heart.

Hater woke up as he normally did; disorientated and wishing he was still asleep. He dragged himself into the bathroom to go through his typical hygienic routine. His mind was unfocused until he stepped into the hallway and noticed something was different.

There was an aroma in the air that moved Hater from his usual direction of Peepers’ room and led him into the kitchen. Forget waking Peepers up for breakfast, Hater knew he wanted whatever was responsible for such a scent and would settle for nothing else. He barely felt like he was even walking until he opened his eyes and found himself standing in the kitchen and looking at Wander in an apron in front of the stove.

The events of the night before slapped him in the face, waking him up quicker than his shower had.

“Oh, right, we’re dating now.” Hater reminded himself aloud as he took in the sight without as much shock as one would think. 

Wander glanced over his shoulder from the pans on the stove to smile at Hater. “Morning, Hatey!” he cheerfully greeted. “Thanks again for letting Sylvia and me crash here last night. Your ship sure is comfortable.”

Hater nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, well, it’s whatever, you know. I have a big ship so you can stay whenever you want since we’re boyfriends and everything now,” he offered as he went to one of the steaming mugs on the countertop. He took a sip and moaned happily as the hot liquid warmed him from the inside out. “Uh, why do you have so many mugs out?” Hater asked, noticing for the first time that every counter space was covered in steaming mugs or plates already stacked high with toast, eggs, and fruit.

“I wanted to make breakfast for everyone,” Wander informed. 

“Right, I got that.” Hater motioned to Wander and the apron and then the stove. “What I don’t get is why my entire ship’s supply of mugs and plates are everywhere.”

“Well I suppose some of the Watchdogs could start to pass out the plates and mugs. I am almost finished with all the servings, just a few more left.” Wander flipped some more toast from the pan to land perfectly on one of the plates.

Hater rubbed at his eyes. “You made breakfast for everyone, including every single Watchdog on my ship. Of course you did.” Hater grabbed a plate, switched his half-filled mug for a one still filled to the brim, and walked out of the kitchen and into his normally private dining hall. 

The dining hall was crowded with his Watchdogs, his Commander, and the Zbornak. “How long has Wander been cooking?” He asked Sylvia as he took his usual seat which also happened to be the only one in the room.

Sylvia shrugged. “He’s an early riser.”

“You four,” Hater pointed at a group of Watchdogs. “Start passing out the breakfast Wander has made for everyone. Eat it quickly and then get back to work!”

“Yes, Lord Hater, sir!” The Watchdogs said in unison and raced out of the dining room to do as ordered. The Watchdogs raced around the room chaotically, handing out plates and mugs. Since they were all in the dining hall and not the food court, there was a distinct lack of chairs and place settings for everyone that wasn’t Lord Hater.

The Watchdogs all held their plates and mugs, looking around and waiting. Hater tapped his fingers impatiently against the table. Sylvia frowned before asking, “What is everyone waiting for?”

“It’s rude to eat without everyone having been served,” Peepers explained as he was handed a plate and a mug. He continued to stand next to Hater’s side.

“Oh, I didn’t realize how polite you all were.” Sylvia glanced around. She smiled when Wander finally entered the room, balancing the last two plates and mugs. He handed Sylvia her breakfast. “Thanks, buddy.” 

“No problem, Sly. Aw, you all didn’t have to wait on me to start eating.” Wander grinned as he looked around the room.

“Yes, we did, but now we can eat.” Hater took a big bite out of his toast and began shoveling eggs into his mouth. “Oh, man, this is so good.” Hater closed his eyes with a look of bliss. “Peepers, whoever has been making my breakfast before is fired. Hire Wander to be my new breakfast chief.”

Peepers sighed. “Sir, I’m the one that’s been making your breakfast all this time.”

“Well you’ve been doing a terrible job at it.” Hater declared. “Wander’s breakfast is delicious. I refuse to eat anyone else’s breakfast from now on.”

“Oh, Hatey, you sure know how to give a compliment! Even though I can’t promise to make you breakfast every morning, I can promise to always make you breakfast when I do sleep over. And I’ll always make sure it’s filled with love.” Wander leaned over and pressed a kiss to Hater’s cheek.

The room went silent and Hater’s face glowed green. “Ah, okay, sure. I mean, I guess I can’t eat it every morning or else then I’d start getting sick of it and need to fire you too.” 

“Um, Lord Hater, sir?” One of the Watchdogs in the crowd raised his hand. All the Watchdogs parted aside and left the one daring to ask a question out in the open in case he angered Hater. They were all aware that their Lord was not approachable, especially in the morning.

“What?” Hater’s eyes narrowed.

“Uh, sir, since you’re like, dating Wander now, does that mean we’re done trying to take over planets?” The Watchdog asked, visibly trembling in his boots with Lord Hater’s glowing gaze on him.

“Why does everyone keep thinking that Wander and me dating changes anything? No, we’re not done taking over planets until I’m the ruler of the galaxy!” Hater slammed his fists down on the table. “Wander is my boyfriend now, but I’m still evil. The only thing that might change is that I might now conquer a planet or two to gift to Wander. Oh, I know the perfect planet to give to you.” Hater turned his attention away from the Watchdog to smile at Wander. “It’s totally lame in a way that you’d love because it’s a wildlife protection planet. There are all these weak, defenseless animals living in peace and harmony that most people visit to feed and pet. Peepers, come up with a plan to take over Wildion so that I can give it to Wander.”

“Aw, Hatey, I really appreciate the sentiment behind your idea, but I don’t need or want a planet as a gift. I mean, I’m a Star Nomad; what would I do with a planet? I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with a conquered planet.” Wander smiled. “How about we visit the planet to feed and pet the animals as our next date? I’d like that a lot more.”

“But I was going to have a statue built of you to place on the planet.” Hater insisted.

“That’s a bit too grand for a simple traveler like me, don’t you think?” Wander wrapped his arms around Hater’s neck. “I don’t need a statue or a planet conquered in my name.”

“You made me breakfast; I need to give you something in return or else I’ll owe you something even more later.” Hater frowned.

“Relationships don’t work like that, Hatey. But if you really want to give me something, I’ll take a goodbye kiss.” Wander batted his eyelashes.

“You’re leaving already?” Hater brought a hand up to wrap behind Wander’s back.

“Sylvia and I are all finished with breakfast so I thought it best we don’t linger. It sounds like you have a lot to do today and I’d hate to keep you. Besides, I did end up staying a lot longer than I meant to.” Wander reminded him.

“Yeah, I guess.” Hater dropped his eyes to his empty plate. “I just thought we’d spend the day together doing, like, boyfriend things.” 

“Oh,” Wander’s eyes went big and started to tear up a little. “That is so sweet, Hater! I just didn’t want to annoy you too much. I know how I sometimes forget to give you your own space and everything, but if you want to spend the whole day together, then I’m in!” Wander jumped into Hater’s lap and wrapped his arms around him. “We can do so many boyfriend things today! What would you want to do first? Do you want to learn a boyfriend song? I can make one up on my banjo for us to sing as a duet. Won’t that be exciting?” Wander was practically bouncing up and down on Hater’s lap at this point. 

Hater looked from Wander’s large eyes over to Peepers’ singular one that was already staring at him with exasperation. “Uh, you know what; I think I have a planet that I need to take over today. Maybe we can do more boyfriend things tomorrow or something?”

“Sure thing! My schedule is rather easy to adjust since I never have much actually planned out. Here, let me give you my number so you can call me when you’re free. Sylvia and I will be around this neck of the galaxy for a few more days. Maybe we’ll even get lucky and run into one another soon.” Wander took Hater’s glove and started to type in his number. “I’m not usually very good about answering my phone too much though so if you really need to get ahold of me, try calling Sylvia. Sylvia, do you mind if I give Hater your number too?”

“Might as well.” Sylvia shrugged.

“Alright, there you go, all set!” Wander finished entering the numbers and closed Hater’s glove into a fist. “Well, I don’t want to overstay my welcome too long. Sylvia and I can show ourselves out while you get started on your day.” Wander reached up to wrap his arms around Hater’s neck and pressed a quick kiss to Hater’s mouth. “Bye, Hatey, I’ll see you real soon!”

“Bye,” Hater smiled dopily as he waved goodbye to his boyfriend. He watched the two leave the room and caught Sylvia’s murmured, “It’s odd being able to leave out the front door instead of the vents for once.”

“Really, sir? It’s not too soon to end this and break up with him now,” Peepers suggested. “It’ll save us all from a lot of headaches.”

“I’m not breaking up with my boyfriend! Go find me a planet to conquer. Also, contact Wildion and set up a reservation. I don’t want the planet to be overrun with kids hogging all the cute animals while I’m there with Wander.” Hater demanded as he pushed his chair out and stood. “I’m going to go work out. I can’t slack off on my sweet bod just because I have a boyfriend now.” Hater flexed his boney arms with a grin. “Also, get someone to clean up all the dishes.” He dismissed as he left the room and headed for the gym.

Sure, Wander was still annoying and too energetic for Hater’s tastes, but he was a good cook and an even better kisser. Hater was positive that their relationship would work out well. He just had to make sure that he had enough planned to keep Wander occupied when they were together so that Wander wouldn’t be overly bothersome. Then they could make out some more. 

With a little spring in his step, Hater went to his personal gym. Surprisingly enough, Hater stayed in a good mood, or what was considered a good mood for him. 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They went on their date to Wildion. Wander loved it. Hater liked feeding the animals but would never have admitted it. He had a soft spot for animals. Wander took pictures to remember the trip and Hater grumbled about it but posed a few times. 

They had another dinner on the Skullship, but not as fancy as the first one. Hater grabbed a pizza from the food court and then showed Wander how to play one of his favorite video games. Wander was terrible at all the violent games because he kept trying to get around obstacles without hurting anyone. Hater eventually switched to a racing game, but then Wander kept beating him. Hater blasted his gaming station and then Wander suggested a movie. They made it halfway through the movie before Wander became distracted with touching Hater’s body and they moved on to something more enjoyable for the two of them.

They spent some days playing with Captain Tim or taking him for a walk on a nearby planet. Wander loved spending time with his old pet again, even if Captain Tim did try to steal his heart one more time. It was worth it though when Hater later scolded the Arachnomorph for trying to steal what belonged to him. Wander cuddled up to Hater’s side the rest of the day even when Hater argued that he “didn’t say anything so mushy,” or that Wander “misheard because of the whole attempted heart-stealing incident.”

Sometimes, they still went on wacky adventures without the intention to do so.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Activate the portal to the Pit of Perpetual Pain!” Lord Hater began laughing in delight as Peepers pulled the lever.

“Sir, don’t you think you’re overreacting, just a tad?” Peepers suggested. “I mean, Gary tripped; he didn’t mean to knock your taquitos off of your tray.”

The poor Watchdog, Gary, stood before the swirling, foreboding portal. He was trembling in the oversized chains as other Watchdogs forced him forward with laser guns.

“No, he has to suffer!” Hater shouted and banged his charged fists on the control panel. Something began to spark. “What did I hit?” Hater asked, looking worriedly at Peepers.

“Ooh, pretty!” Wander looked over Hater’s shoulder and at the portal to another dimension.

“Wander! What are you doing here? Why are you here now?” Hater’s eyes widened with surprise. “This isn’t a good time, Wander. I’m in the middle of--”

“Sir, this is bad!” Peepers interrupted.

Hater nodded. “Right, exactly, this is a bad time, Wander, you need to--”

“No, sir, this is really bad!” Peepers shouted and jumped from the raised station just before the control panel exploded.

“This is worse!” Hater shouted as he began falling.

“Wee!” Wander grinned as he held onto Hater.

Peepers looked down at the portal just as the door opened and Sylvia walked in with a smoothie. “You guys have the best food court,” she declared. “Where’s Wander and Hater?”

“In there,” Peepers pointed down at the portal.

“Oh,” Sylvia looked at the portal. “And how long are they going to be there?”

“Until I can fix that,” Peepers sighed and pointed at the smoking control panel. 

“Oh,” Sylvia sighed as well. “I knew I shouldn’t have made that stop at the food court.”

“Um, Commander, does this mean I won’t have to be banished?” Gary asked.

“It depends on what kind of mood Lord Hater comes back in. Considering he’s with his boyfriend, you might end up lucky, Gary. But considering that his boyfriend is Wander and they’re stuck in another dimension with all of Lord Hater’s past banished prisoners, I’d keep those chains on.” Peepers deadpanned and headed out of the room to gather tools and supplies.

Meanwhile, through the interdimensional portal, Hater was getting the living daylights punched out of him by the previously mentioned banished prisoners. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t be mean! We don’t have to be mean!” Wander shouted, waving his hands as he approached the gang beating up Hater, hoping to disband them and help Hater.

“Huh? Wander, that you?” Thrax asked as he stopped punching Hater. The other inmates around him stopped as well at hearing the familiar name. “What the heck are you doin’ here?” Thrax smiled as he approached his old friend. The other inmates gathered around, cheering and greeting Wander merrily.

“You, you know these guys?” Hater asked as he slowly got up from the ground.

“Know him? He helped me start up my used bookstore! I had such a great life going as a small business owner. Until somebody destroyed my bookstore,” Thrax glared at Hater, “All because I told him his novel wasn’t selling well!”

Hater smiled uncertainly and started to back away from the encroaching inmates. Wander quickly ran in front of Hater, shielding him with his small form.

“Stop! I can’t have some of my friends hurting my boyfriend!” Wander argued.

“Whoa, what? Hater is your boyfriend?” Thrax asked, his one eye going wide.

“Aww, yeah. He may be the “Ultimate evil” and all, but I know,” Wander turned around and hugged Hater, “That deep down inside he’s got a good heart.”

“No I don’t!” Hater argued. “I don’t have a good heart.” He insisted and noticed the inmates glaring at him. “But, uh, yeah, we are dating.” Hater began mumbling as his face glowed green, “Have been for a couple weeks now.”

Thrax crossed his arms over his chest. “If you’re boyfriends, prove it.”

“Hater’s not very big on public displays of affection yet, fellows.” Wander leaned forward towards the inmates. “He’s still shy about kissing.” 

“No I’m not!” Hater yelled and stomped his feet. “I’ll prove it!” He grabbed Wander and hauled him in for a kiss. Hater’s eyes were scrunched up and his face was bright green even though it was a closed mouth kiss and pretty chaste considering how the couple normally kissed. “There! See!”

“Okay, I guess you are boyfriends.” Thrax frowned. “So, how did that happen?”

“Oh it’s a long story, but I don’t mind telling it if you don’t mind listening!” Wander beamed. 

And so they all passed the time listening to Wander’s account of his and Hater’s relationship. Hater interjected and argued a lot. Thrax and the other inmates offered their own stories. Wander then shared a few other stories from his past that Hater had never heard before. The time passed quickly until a beam of blue light suddenly engulfed the group. They were all slowly lifted up into the air and appeared back in Hater’s ship. 

“Uh, Lord Hater, sir, should we send those others back into the portal?” Peepers asked, a smear of grease across his eye giving him the appearance of an eyebrow. Sylvia was also covered in grease from assisting Peepers with fixing the controls. Wander didn’t care and still hugged her.

“What, you mean Thrax and the guys?” Hater pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the group of rough looking inmates. “Nah, they’re actually pretty cool. You’re all free to go.” He declared with a wave of his hand in the air.

The inmates murmured happily with one another before Thrax stepped forward and clapped Hater on the back. “You’re a pretty good guy after all, Hater. Hey, man, listen,” Thrax leaned in close and Hater did as well. “If you ever break Wander’s heart, me and the guys will come back and break every bone of your body.” He growled and Hater jerked away. “Glad we got that covered.” Thrax smiled. “Don’t be a stranger, Wander!”

“Bye, Thrax! Bye, guys!” Wander waved. “Boy, Hater, that sure was a fun date!”

“Yeah, sure, how about we just go see a movie next time?” Hater suggested with a sigh.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After spending time in a terrible alternate dimension with Wander, Hater began to like listening to Wander more. They began to share stories of different planets they had visited. Hater boasted about his successful conquers and Wander listened with rapt attention to every word even if he knew Hater was lying. When Wander told a story, Hater actively listened. 

They laughed together, they tried things for the first time at the other’s suggestion, and they did a lot of kissing as well as more than kissing when the chance came up. They enjoyed the time when they were together. Wander spoke openly and unashamedly of how much he loved and cherished the time with Hater. 

The two began to grow comfortable around one another as a couple. 

But their old routines didn’t stop. After all, old habits were hard to change. Hater wasn’t suddenly a good guy and Wander continued to travel far around in his lackadaisical fashion. They didn’t see each other or even talk to each other every single day. Hater liked his individual time too much and Wander just couldn’t stay in one spot for too long.

But the two made it work and were both enjoying calling the other their boyfriend. 

Sylvia had been worried the first time they had broken up one of Hater’s invasion. Once she saw how Wander had new ways to distract Hater when they did run into one another on a planet, she stopped being concerned. 

Sometimes they went weeks without seeing each other. Wander would call Hater and tell him about the amazing planet he found or a neat restaurant they should visit when they were apart for too long. Hater would call Wander and complain about Peepers or brag about his new high score for some game. 

Their relationship was far from perfect; especially since those closest to them both kept waiting for something utterly terrible to happen. After their first three months together, they had their first big fight.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hater had asked Wander out to the fancy restaurant, Chez Schmancy, on the heart-shaped planet Lamouria. He had big plans for their date and also asked if Wander wouldn’t mind wearing a dress again. Wander easily agreed and thought it would be fun to revisit their first fake-date spot and turn it into a real date. 

They repeated the events of that fateful date; dinner, carnival, and stargazing on Exclamation Point. The only difference being that Hater had stopped Wander from making out with him the moment the chariot stopped. 

Wander had been surprised but respected Hater’s boundaries and decided it was just as nice sitting on his lap and talking. Hater was uncharacteristically quiet though and kept looking up at the stars expectantly.

“I hope you don’t mind the short hair, but you still have my long, blonde wig.” Wander commented as he ran his hands through the shorter blonde strands. 

“You could have worn the brunette wig again, but short hair is fine too.” Hater ran a hand through the wig, really digging his fingers in to be able to scratch at Wander’s actual fur. He glanced at the stars and then his wrist watch once more. “Oh, come on! They’re late now! I knew Peepers would mess this up!” Hater fumed angrily.

“What is Peepers doing?” Wander asked.

“Wha-uh, nothing, totally nothing, Wanda. Um, Wander. Sorry, that’s like the tenth time I’ve called you that tonight.” Hater mumbled, looking upset at himself.

“I told you I don’t mind if you want to call me that,” Wander reminded gently. He took Hater’s hand and settled it on his lap of his light blue dress. “Wow, the moon sure is beautiful from this spot.” He commented, staring at the moon with the same wonder and amazement he reserved for all discoveries he made as he traveled. 

“Yeah, just keep looking at it,” Hater insisted. He tried not to shift and start sweating but he was beginning to get very agitated. Peepers was ruining his plan and probably on purpose.

“No problem! It’s just so big and close. It’s almost like I could reach up and touch it we’re so close.” Wander did reach out with his hand not holding Hater’s. Then he jerked his hand back. “Did I actually touch it? Oh no, Hater, I think I accidentally ruined their moon!” Wander sounded panicked.

“What?” Hater looked up at the moon to see it was smoking and red lasers kept appearing in the growing huge cloud of smoke. “Yes, finally!” Hater cheered at the sight.

“Hater, what’s going on?” Wander asked, still sounding worried.

“Wait until the smoke clears,” Hater assured, squeezing Wander’s hand. 

It took a few minutes but the smoke eventually faded from the moon. The moon had been altered to read “Will you marry me?” in big, blocky letters carved into the planet’s surface.

“Hater,” Wander looked from the moon to his boyfriend and found Hater already sliding the ring from their official first date on his finger. 

“Will you, Wander?” Hater asked, smiling at him as he held up Wander’s hand to show him the ring. “You’ve made me so happy these past months, even when you were being annoying. I want what we have together for the rest of our lives.”

Wander smiled and leaned forward to kiss Hater, cupping his cheek with his free hand. He slid his other hand out of Hater’s grasp to be able to box Hater’s face with both hands. He pulled away and shook his head. “No, Hater, I’m sorry, but I won’t agree to marry you.” Wander slid the ring off of his finger and tried to hand it back to Hater. “Although, I most certainly want to keep being your boyfriend,” he assured.

Hater stared at the offered ring as though it was poisonous. “No?” he asked for confirmation.

Wander shook his head again. “Sorry, Hatey, but no.”

“Why not?” Hater boomed, pushing Wander roughly from his lap and even off of the chariot. The ring flew out of Wander’s hand to bounce around in the grass but Hater didn’t care about it. After all, if Wander wasn’t going to marry him then he had no reason to keep that ring. “Why won’t you marry me? I didn’t propose after sex this time! I’m talking with my heart, not my junk.” He insisted as he used Wander’s words from their first proposal.

“Hater,” Wander frowned as he stood, dusting off his dress and readjusting his askew wig. “It’s been three months. You hated me for longer than we’ve been dating. Marriage is something that’s meant to last a lifetime. It’s like I told you before, marriage is not something that should be taken lightly.”

“I’m not taking it lightly!” Hater shouted as he began to fire his lightning bolts into the air to let out some of the frustration and anger he was feeling. “I really want to marry you!”

“That’s great that you feel that way and I’m not saying that you don’t. I can’t speak for your feelings. But I know that I don’t feel ready for such a step in our relationship,” Wander explained. 

“Then I’ll make you ready for it!” Hater stated as he jumped off of the chariot to loom over Wander, lightning still crackling off of his fingertips. “Marry me, Wander, or else I’ll have Peepers blow up this planet with everyone still on it. And I’ll make you watch, knowing that you could have saved them if you had simply agreed to marry me.” He stood menacingly before Wander, glaring down at him as his threat hung in the air between them.

Wander’s eyes were wide as he stared up at Hater. He brought a hand up to his wig and removed it, then he tossed it at Hater’s face and placed both hands on his hips. Hater sputtered at the sudden hair in his face. “What did you--”

“That is no way to behave at being rejected by a proposal.” Wander had a very stern expression on his face. He lifted one hand to wag a finger angrily at Hater. “I am appalled that you think you could threaten a planet in order to bully me into marrying you, Hater. I thought you were better than that.” Wander turned on his heel and showed Hater his back. 

“But I, I,” Hater trailed off lamely, not having any idea of what he could possibly say. With his anger quickly diffused by the sudden turn of events, it left Hater’s other regular emotions enough room to surface; sadness and disappointment.

Hater began to cry. 

He fell to his knees and grabbed onto Wander’s dress. “I’m sorry; please don’t break up with me!” 

Wander melted at the tears, quickly turning around and pulling Hater to sob against his chest as he rubbed at the skeleton’s back. “I’ll forgive you, Hatey, of course I will. I love you and I won’t break up. But I think we both need a little space after this, okay? When you’re done crying, we’ll go back to your ship, I’ll grab Sylvia, and I’ll call you in a few days. We’ll move past this as a couple. Does that sound okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Hater sobbed against Wander, nodding his head and smearing his tears into Wander’s dress.

They took a few moments for Hater to recover. Wander grabbed the discarded ring and sneaked it into Hater’s pocket, not risking a second reaction to try and hand it back to Hater. Then they used Wander’s Orbble to return to the Skullship. 

Sylvia and Peepers were waiting. Peepers had been ordered to have all the Watchdogs ready with a big celebration party, but after lightning bolts had barely missed striking the Skullship, Peepers had wisely sent the Watchdogs away. 

The two watched the approaching couple. “Well, it was nice beating you at cards while I had the chance.” Sylvia commented as she noticed that they weren’t holding hands as they had been when they had left for their date. “I guess it’ll just go back to me beating your butt instead.”

“That’s if you make it off this ship alive, Zbornak.” Peepers commented even as he kept his gaze on Lord Hater. He could tell that his Lord looked emotionally exhausted which meant he had been crying. They probably wouldn’t be out for blood in the next moment. Maybe in the morning Hater would want vengeance and Peepers would give it to his Lord if it would amend his broken heart.

Sylvia snorted. “Hey, buddy,” she greeted Wander when the Orbble popped. “What’s the plan for tonight?” 

Wander was already removing his wig and dress, stuffing them back into his hat. “The stars are really beautiful tonight so I thought we might want to go camp out. There’s a cozy little planet nearby.” He suggested with a small smile, glancing at Hater before looking at Sylvia again.

“Yeah, that’s no problem; you know I love camping out. I was done playing cards with the Watchdogs anyways.” Sylvia took a few cautious steps around Hater to get to Wander’s side.

“I’ll call you in three days, okay.” Wander took Hater’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I love you,” he insisted as he leaned up to press a kiss to Hater’s cheek. 

Hater nodded but didn’t wait for Wander to leave before he started to walk into the depths of the Skullship. His shoulders were hunched and his gaze was on the floor as he marched on. Peepers ran after him.

“Sir, do you want to talk about what happened?” Peepers asked, worried for his boss.

“No,” Hater mumbled. “I’m tired. I just want to go to bed and act like this day never happened.”

“I thought it was a really romantic proposal, sir,” Peepers stated.

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Hater snapped, standing up to his full height and glaring down at Peepers. 

“Yes, sir, of course sir, we’ll just act like nothing out of the ordinary happened tonight.” Peepers was quick to concede as he cowered under Hater’s anger.

“Good, Hater out!” Hater transported to his room. 

He continued to mope in his solitude for two days. On the third day he went out and mercilessly conquered a planet just so he would have something to talk about with Wander when he called. He did call and neither brought up what had happened on their last date. 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The two moved on. Their new routine of dating one another continued until it no longer seemed new. It had just become their routine.

Even those closest to them became comfortable with the changes. Sylvia didn’t stop beating up Watchdogs, but she did pull her punches. Peepers didn’t stop creating evil plans for Lord Hater, but he did stop nagging Hater about falling down in numbers on the villain poll. Sylvia and Peepers spent a lot of Wander’s and Hater’s date nights together. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but they got along fairly well. 

Hater was smiling more around the Skullship. He didn’t lash out at the Watchdogs without having a reason for his outbursts. Wander was always smiling and happy, but Sylvia knew that he was even happier than usual when he got to spend time with Hater. 

But Hater had been right in saying that nothing really changing.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Tremble in fear before your new conqueror! Technoheads, your planet will now be under our control.” Peepers demanded as he continued to fire at the fleeing creatures with various heads of cameras, phones, televisions, and other such devices. “He has come to claim your puny planet as his. He will destroy your way of living and rule over you all. He is the Duke of Dread, the Monarch of Mayhem, the Emperor of Evil; Lord Hater!”

Lord Hater appeared with his signature lightning bolts around him. He cackled triumphantly as he took in the site of the trembling citizens. “That’s right; all of your miserable lives are now dedicated to me! I am one step closer to becoming the Greatest in the Galaxy! No one can save you and no one can stop me from--” Hater stopped himself in the midst of his rant. His hands fell to his side and he sighed. “Hi, Wander.”

“Hiya, Hatey!” Wander beamed up at him, giving Hater an extra squeeze around his middle where his hands were already tightly locked. Wander rubbed his face against Hater’s robes like a cat would greet its owner. Hater knew what that meant, especially when Wander kept stopping to look up at him expectantly. “Do I get my hello kiss?” 

Hater rubbed at his face. “I’m trying to take over a planet!” 

Sylvia was already fighting her way through the crowd of Watchdogs at this point. Hater and Wander both took a step to the side as a Watchdog went hurtling past them.

“I’m sure you’re doing your best,” Wander encouraged, “although it is a shame to waste such a perfect picnic day on conquering planets. I even baked some cookies and I found the perfect little spot on a hill over there. It’s a great place that gives you a view of all the flowers blowing in the wind. If those flowers don’t get destroyed by your forces it would be a pretty date spot.” Wander batted his eyelashes. 

Hater narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to convince me not to conquer a planet because I should go look at flowers with you?”

“No,” Wander exaggerated the word and kicked at the ground. “I’m simply suggesting that while Sylvia and Mr. Peepers are distracted we can take a moment for ourselves.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “The spot is very secluded and perfect for a quickie in the pretty flowers.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Then we can have some cookies. They’re freshly baked!” Wander sang his last statement in an attempt to sweeten the deal.

Hater looked around at his many defeated Watchdogs already unconscious on the ground or moaning in pain. Then he watched Sylvia continue to make her way effortlessly through his army. He noticed Peepers trying to round up some Watchdogs that were still on their feet. No doubt they would try to attack the Zbornak for a last ditch effort but ultimately fail.

Shrugging his shoulders, Hater grabbed Wander’s hand. “Alright, fine, but only because this is a stupid planet that I really didn’t want to control anyways. And those cookies better be good.”

Hater stopped short when he tugged on Wander’s hand but the nomad refused to budge. Wander continued to look at Hater expectantly with a wide grin on his face. “What?” Hater glared. 

Wander tapped his puckered lips. Hater’s face glowed green as he bent down and pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend. One of the fleeing Technoheads stopped to mutter a quick, “Aw,” and snapped a picture at the couple. Hater roared and fired a lightning bolt at the unsuspecting spectator, frying his system.

“Hatey, that wasn’t very nice.” Wander pouted and ran over to the attacked citizen.

“I know it wasn’t nice; that’s why I did it.” Hater followed Wander and lazily nudged at the figure on the ground with the toe of his shoe. “It’s not dead, is it?”

“No, he’ll probably just need new batteries.” Wander reached into his hat and pulled out a pair of batteries. He quickly went about changing the batteries of the Technohead. When the Technohead whirred back to consciousness, it took one look at Lord Hater’s glare and bolted from the spot. 

Wander grinned and waved after its hasty departure. “Alright, Hatey, now how about that picnic?” Wander took Hater by the hand and Hater willingly followed Wander over to the picnic that had already been set up. Wander had been correct, it was very secluded. 

“Mustard or mayo?” Wander asked as he pulled out two sandwiches from the picnic basket.

Hater smacked both sandwiches from his hands. “I don’t want a stupid sandwich! Just give me a cookie!”

“Someone’s cranky today. Did you have trouble sleeping again?” Wander asked even as he handed over the bag of cookies. 

Stuffing a whole cookie in his mouth at once, Hater avoided Wander’s eyes and shrugged his shoulders. Wander took that as an affirmative answer. “Did you try drinking some warm milk before going to bed?”

“Ew, who likes warm milk?” Hater grabbed a second cookie and pulled the bag closer to himself, not intending to share.

“Well, you can have warm cookies and milk instead if you really want.” Wander grinned. “I left a batch in your bedroom when I finished baking them. I thought they might be a nice surprise when you return to your ship later.”

Hater wasn’t surprised to learn that Wander had been on his ship earlier during the invasion to bake the cookies. Wander used his open invitation to the Skullship frequently. Most of his visits were to see Hater, of course, but if Hater was off the ship then Wander would bake or find some Watchdogs to hang out with. It had stopped surprising Hater to return from an invasion and find Sylvia and Wander sitting at a crowded table in the food court. 

“Well it’s not a surprise when you tell me,” Hater grumbled, crumbs flying out of his mouth and landing on Wander’s face.

Wander wiped his face and grabbed a sandwich for himself. “I’m not very good at keeping secrets.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Hater rolled his eyes. Wander made an agreeable noise as he began to eat his sandwich. 

They ate in relative silence, or as silent as Wander got since he was still making happy little noises as he munched along. Hater only ate half of the bag of cookies since he figure he had a dozen waiting for him back in his bedroom for later. Placing the bag aside, Hater moved a hand onto Wander’s leg near his bottom and looked away with his face slightly glowing.

“Oh, Hatey, are you,” Wander reached up and ran his fingers down one of Hater’s horns, “feeling a bit horny, you naughty skeleton?” 

“Shut up,” Hater pulled his hand back as though burned. “You were the one that suggested we sneak away for a quickie.” 

“That’s true! And, well, if you don’t mind, I am still a little hungry.” Wander moved to sit in front of Hater on the blanket. He waggled his eyebrows and leaned forward on his hands and knees.

Hater frowned and glanced at the bag of cookies he had moved aside. “Do you want a cookie or another of your sandwiches?” He asked, his question trailing off at the end as Wander began to push up his robe. “Oh, you meant, uh, yeah, I um, don’t mind that at all.” Hater leaned back on his hands to make room for his robe to pool around his hips, revealing his boxers. 

“These are so cute!” Wander exclaimed as he noticed the eyeball boxers. “They look like little Watchdogs protecting your junk!” 

“Wander!” Hater growled and pushed Wander backwards and away from him. He pushed his robe back down. “We’re not doing this if you’re going to say stupid things like that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Wander apologized sincerely.

“Yeah, well, then don’t talk about my junk like that.” Hater glared, his face glowing, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Maybe we should give me something better to do with my mouth instead?” Wander purred as he moved back into Hater’s space, slowly running his hands up Hater’s legs and pushing the robe back up. He made sure not to comment on Hater’s boxers this time.

“Anything to get you to shut up,” Hater agreed. He jutted his jawbone further out, fully expecting Wander to begin the foreplay. After all, by the apparent lack of glowing coming from his boxers, Wander couldn’t begin anything down in that area yet.

Wander grinned and placed his hands on Hater’s shoulders in order to lean forward and start kissing him. Hater would never admit it, but he missed Wander’s kisses the most when he spent time away from his boyfriend. Wander’s mouth was so warm and welcoming. 

Hater ran his hands down Wander’s back, petting and dragging his fingers through the fur like Wander liked. Wander murmured appreciatively against his mouth as his own little hands came up to push off Hater’s hood. Their familiarity with one another’s body had already gotten to the point where they each had a favorite part of one another to focus on. Wander loved touching Hater’s horns and also loved talking about touching his horns. Apparently his favorite thing about touching them was when it caused an electric current to rise up Hater’s spine. Hater didn’t bother encouraging Wander’s behavior by confirming that he liked that sensation too.

Being completely hairless, Hater liked Wander’s fur. Despite Wander being someone who traveled constantly and had questionable hygiene concerns, such as access to running water, Wander’s fur was well kept. It was also really soft. 

Hater even removed his gloves to be able to better feel that silky, smooth fur. 

“Oh, Hater, you know just what to do to get me going.” Wander arched his back bumping his chest against Hater’s. He slid down Hater’s body, happy to see a glowing tent in Hater’s boxers. He moved until his head was in Hater’s lap, rubbing his cheek against the bulge of Hater’s erection. 

When he glanced up, Wander almost expected to see Hater still glowering at him. Instead, Hater was watching him intently. His mouth was open slightly, his breathing a little quick and heavy already from the anticipation. His brows were drawn together, but not from anger for once, and his eyes were very dark and deep.

With eyes still connected with Hater’s, Wander moved his hands over Hater’s boxer, reaching in to free his cock. It listed to one side a little, glowing as bright as Hater’s eyes and attracting Wander’s gaze. 

Wander couldn’t help but move forward and give a friendly little kiss to the top. He half expected Hater to yell at him, but Wander enjoyed hearing the small hitching noise Hater made in the back of his throat much more. He tilted his head, opened his mouth, and filled it with Hater. A muffled moan slipped out of him as he shifted his position. 

He wrapped one hand around the base of the shaft. The other hand moved to grab one of Hater’s and slowly position it on the back of his head, knocking his hat off and to the side. This sort of activity was both familiar and unfamiliar to Wander. He’d done this often enough, but Hater had a very distinct taste of his own and filled his mouth a great deal more than Wander was used to. 

Hater’s heavy hand finally pressed down on him. Wander moaned and Hater echoed the sound. The hand on him now let Wander have a little control of how deeply the head went into his mouth. It was so good. His mouth kept getting wetter around Hater. He moved his tongue, working him over as best as he could. Wander wasn’t one to hold back on any of his tricks when it came to making others happy and he could tell that Hater was very happy at this moment. 

His mouth was positively watering as he sucked. He dimly heard Hater chanting his name over and over again with a bunch of curses and approving nonsense mixed in. Hater’s hand was still pushing him down and he pressed back up against it, moving in a constant bobbing motion. Hater’s body rumbled under him, his hips thrusting up a bit, seeking deeper warmth. Then he felt Hater’s large hand brush back his large hair tufts from his forehead. 

Wander grinned around his mouthful, glancing up at Hater to see the skeleton’s intense gaze. He sucked more urgently then. His eyes flickered close as Hater pushed down too hard and caused him to gag as his throat was struck. 

“S-sorry,” Hater murmured and flexed his fingers over Wander’s head, easing up on the pressure and letting Wander move off for a moment.

“It’s s’okay, y’just surprised me, s’all,” Wander mumbled, dropping back and panting. His lips felt swollen and tingly. He licked them and moved forward. He took in the bulbous cockhead once more, feeling the shape against the roof of his mouth.

Then he deep throated. 

Wander had a lot of precious memories that he thought of as his favorites. The sound Hater made when he suddenly came went right into his top ten. 

Wander soothed Hater with gentle hands over his thighs as Hater gulped down air. He sat with a satisfied grin on his face as he watched Hater’s afterglow sink in. Hater had sprawled backwards on the blanket, chest heaving and eyes staring up at the sky with awe. Wander wiggled to move up and lie on Hater’s chest. 

When Hater’s breathing began to steady, the skeleton finally looked at Wander again. He wiped some wet from Wander’s chin with his thumb.

“Do you, um, do you want me to--?” Hater asked.

“Oh no worries,” Wander responded with a smug look. “I got what I wanted out of that.” 

Hater stared at Wander for a moment before rolling his eyes. “You’re such a wierdo.”

“Yep,” Wander agreed happily. 

Hater couldn’t meet the intense adoration on Wander’s face for very long. He went back to staring up into space but he did bring his hands up to pet at Wander’s fur. They continued to lie that way for a while. Wander mentioned a few close planets that he was planning on visiting to explore soon. Hater made sure to pay attention so that he could order Peepers to plan an invasion on those planets.

“Oh, grop, how long have we been here?” Hater asked, suddenly startled by his own thoughts. “The invasion is probably over by now. Ugh, Peepers is going to be complaining for a week.” He sat up slowly and Wander slid from his chest down into his lap. 

“You want to head back?” Wander moved to stand and used the advantage of Hater still sitting to press a kiss to his lips while they were both on the same height level. 

“Yeah, I probably should,” Hater stood and stretched as Wander went about stuffing everything back into his hat. Hater held his hand out and Wander took it as they began to walk back into the main city of the Technoheads. Wander swung their connected hands between them but Hater was still too blissed out to care. 

Some parts of the city were on fire. Most of the Technoheads had already evacuated and were nowhere to be seen. There were a lot more unconscious Watchdogs littering the city’s ground. Sylvia looked bored as she leaned against a building checking something on her phone. When she heard their approach, namely Wander’s cheerful greeting, she put the phone away.

“Ready to move on, buddy?” She asked with an easy smile on her face. 

“Yep! This planet was really nice though. We should visit again sometime. I found a nice little picnic spot with Hater that you and I could use sometime.” Wander suggested.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that. No offence, but I don’t really want to go anywhere that you and Hater went when he comes back looking like that.” Sylvia pointed her thumb over towards Hater. Even as he toed one of the Watchdogs, he still had a small smile on his face.

Wander ran back over to Hater and gave him one last squeeze. “Love you, Hatey.”

Hater looked around and, after noticing that they were pretty much alone except for the injured, he placed his hands on Wander’s back. “Yeah, I know. And, um, me too, you know?” He murmured quietly.

Wander rubbed his face against Hater’s robe one last time before pulling back. Hater had come so far already in the few months they had been dating. Wander was pleased that love was a good fit for Hater. “Later, Hater!” He called as he mounted Sylvia’s saddle and pulled out his Orbble juice. 

The two floated away, Wander waving as Hater raised a hand in farewell. Looking around the city, Hater began to step over Watchdogs until he came upon the biggest hat. “Peepers!” Hater shouted, jolting the poor Watchdog commander. Peepers winced and rubbed at his bruised torso. “You and these worthless Watchdogs need to get up and get back on the Skullship. This planet is stupid and I don’t want to conquer it anymore. I’ll be in my room. Let me know when we’re departing. Hater out!” Hater teleported back onto his ship in a flash of green lightning, leaving Peepers to clean up the mess as usual. 

There was a little plastic bag filled with cookies on his bedside table waiting for him. He smiled at the little note left beside it signed with a heart and a ‘W.’

**Author's Note:**

> This story was also my take on the episode 'The Buddies' as having Hater and Wander be a couple. Yes, the song and rainbow scene still happened in Hater's dream. Only he woke up to see Wander cuddling him and then just rolled over to continue sleeping until Thrax woke them for breakfast. The dialogue during that scene is taken straight from the transcript of that episode. Then some parts were tweaked and changed by me. 
> 
> If you have any other questions about any particular episode and how it would change with Wander and Hater now dating, feel free to ask me down in the comments or on [my Tumblr.](http://aloneindarknes7.tumblr.com/) Otherwise, I've brought these two almost up to the end of season one in my mind. That means big changes soon, including Dominator!


End file.
